Andre Renaud, 1929

This poster pairs two pianos, one set of hands, and two great artists. Paul Colin was one of the fathers of the Art Deco poster, whose Jazz Age classic poster of Josephine Baker in her banana skirt a year earlier brought fame to the Bal Negre star and Colin alike. That was the beginning of a string of successes, with Colin's dramatic compositions and brilliant caricature pioneering an energized form of Art Deco distinct from his most famous poster contemporary, AM Cassandre.

Andre Renaud was a brilliant pianist and performer, who was known to play on two pianos even while blindfolded. Colin echoes the geometry of the pianos with a jolt of blue lightning running down Renaud's arms, as his hands fly over the keyboards.